A Thousand Miles
by ButterflyTears
Summary: Mark's death send Rachel a little off the rails. PG for drug abuse.
1. A Thousand Miles

Title: A Thousand Miles

Author: ButterflyTears    butterflytears87@aol.com

(Not Very Legal) Legal Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do  not own any of the character in this story (except Cate and Michelle – if you wish to borrow them, please contact me at the above address). As I am merely borrowing the characters, I will (reluctantly) return them to their rightful owners: The WB, Amblin, Michael Crichton , etc the usual suspects.

A Thousand Miles

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If you could fall into the sky

Do you think time would pass us by?

Cus you know I'd walk a thousand miles

If I could just see you

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He watched her as she strolled through the park arm-in-arm with Cate and Michelle, her two best friends. He saw her throw her head back, shrieking with laughter as the girls recounted their antics the previous night. He didn't need to listen – he had watched over them the previous night. He had seen the friends dance the night away at the party, drinking as much alcohol as their systems could take. Mark had watched his eldest daughter tie her bandana round her arm, close her eyes and shove the needle into her vein.

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You've always been a-running from something or another

But your fear has never had such a name

You let your problems linger, and always,

Come to think of it, there's always someone else who's to blame

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"Rachel! Rachel! Get up! Get out of bed NOW!" Elizabeth hollered, screaming at me.

            "Right, okay, I'm up. What is it?" I mumbled, still half asleep.

            "THIS is what's up!" My step-mother thrust a plastic bag full of empty bottles at me, glaring as she always did.

            "Yeah, I had a few friends over a couple of nights ago, and we needed a little refreshment." I smiled innocently, hoping my lie would pass. Judging from the look on the English woman's face, it didn't.

            "Contrary to popular belief, I didn't come up the Thames in a banana boat! I've been watching these bottles accumulate over the last few days! And anyway, if your friends were over you wouldn't be drinking anyway! You are fifteen years old!"

            "You didn't come up the Thames in a banana boat? What on earth are you talking about? And anyway, what's it to you if the bottles have been building up? So what if I like a drink every now and again? It's not like you're my mother or anything!" I turned and stormed into my room, slamming the door behind me. As I crawled into my bed, I heard Ella start to cry. I was sorry to wake my sister up, but I was glad in a way, because that caused Elizabeth grief, and I wasn't about to make her royal highness's life easy. No way. I rolled over, and reached under my mattress, and without thinking anything of it, I swallowed the two tablets I found there.

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 Did you think that this would make everything right?

Did you know the price you paid was your whole life?

And now you're screaming out to me to make things right tonight.

How will you end your pain?

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Mark shook his head as he watched the scene unfolding below him. He hated seeing his wife and his daughter fight, but what troubled him more was seeing the ease with which Rachel swallowed the hidden drugs. His head dropped to his hands as he wondered where he'd gone wrong; where she'd gone wrong. Mark sighed, remembering when Rachel was a happy little girl, playing with her friends. Now she was a depressed teenager, playing with her life. What is happening to my family? He wondered out loud. 

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Rachel giggled uncontrollably, rolling off Cate's bed and onto the floor. Pretty soon Cate and Michelle fell over and joined her on the floor. The three girls lay on their backs, gazing up at the psychedelic posters on Cate's ceiling. 

            "Look at the pretty colours!" Michelle giggled. "They're swirling around and I can't make them stay still!" Cate and Rachel put their heads next to hers and gazed incredulously at the ceiling.

            "Slow down! Stop spinning so fast!" Cate yelled at the roof.

            "Maybe if we run in circles the other way, then the picture will stay still!" Rachel offered, rising unsteadily to her feet.

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Mark was watching over his family the way he always did when he saw Rachel and her friends running in frantic circles, staring at the ceiling, laughing hysterically. His suspicions were confirmed as her watched Cate reach into her pocket and pull out a lighter and a crudely rolled joint.

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The ER staff were run off their feet, as per usual on a Saturday night. Dr. Susan Lewis was just sitting down for a well-deserved rest in the lounge when Abby came flying in, informing her of an incoming trauma.

            "Riot at a rock concert," the young nurse said. "We're getting three majors and countless minors. ETA 2 minutes." Susan sighed, glanced at her watch, and slowly stood up from the couch. **Guess I won't be going home any time soon** she thought. Susan left the lounge and was greeted by a site of organised chaos as the ER prepared in the usual manner for a multiple trauma. The sound of approaching sirens drew the doctor to the ambulance bay, where she joined the assorted line-up of doctors, nurses, surgeons and med students. As the first ambulance pulled up, John Carter started organising the group. 

            "Susan! You take that first lot. Haleh, you go with her. Gallant, you float between Dr Lewis and Dr Kovac. Chunny, you're with Luka." He turned to look at the group. "I'll take the third major. Abby, you come with me. Pratt, you triage and everyone else treat  and street the minors. We're gonna need the beds."

"Hi, sweetie. I'm Dr Lewis. Can you tell me your name?" Susan peered over the gurney, assessing the damage on the way to the trauma room.

            "Susan?" the young girl said.

            "Susan? Your name is Susan?"

            "No," the girl said. "Is your name Susan?"

            "Yes," replied Susan, puzzled. "How did you know that?"

            "It's Rachel," the patient announced. Shocked, Susan took a step back and gasped, as she stared into the pained eyes of none other than Rachel Greene.

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	2. Two Thousand Miles

Title: Two Thousand Miles Author: ButterflyTears butterflytears87@aol.com (Not Very Legal) Legal Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own any of the character in this story (except Cate and Michelle - if you wish to borrow them, please contact me at the above address). As I am merely borrowing the characters, I will (reluctantly) return them to their rightful owners: The WB, Amblin, Michael Crichton , etc the usual suspects.  
  
  
  
Two Thousand Miles  
  
Dr. Susan Lewis stared at the injured girl lying in front of her, then, snapping to her senses, yelled "Someone get Elizabeth in here!" as she slammed the gurney through the doors of Trauma 2. "Get me a CBC, chem 7 and lytes." Dr Lewis ordered some labs. "Susan, check out that heart rhythm," Abby Lochart, an ER nurse called, pointing to the monitor attached to Rachel's chest. "Right, get me a tox screen and a BAL to go along with those labs!" Elizabeth burst through the doors, donning yellow trauma scrubs. "Right, you called for a surgical consult?" the pretty English surgeon asked. "Eh, no, actually. I called you down because of the patient. It's Rachel." Everyone in the trauma room turned to stare at the girl lying on the bed. Murmurs of recognition spread throughout the room as doctors and nurses flew back into operation, determined to help their late friend's daughter. "Tox screens back," John Carter swung through the doors. "BAL's sky- high. Tested positive for marijuana, ecstasy, speed, cocaine and heroin. What was she trying to do, kill herself? She's got track marks and scars all the way up her arms. She's a junkie, a cutter, and she's attempted suicide a few times. She's......" Abby cut him off. "She's Rachel Greene." "She's in V-Fib!" Haleh yelled, as a machine started to emit an electronic scream. "Charge to 200!" Elizabeth took over control of the trauma, shocking Rachel's heart to try and make it beat again. "Charge to 300!"  
  
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Mark watched as his friends and co-workers battled to save his daughter, wishing there were something he could do, looking for a way to help. **Oh God Rachel, what have you done? Hang in there Rach - I don't want to lose you so soon**  
  
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Rachel woke up, slightly disorientated with the pain, caused by the two broken ribs that were the result of the concert riot. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling deep in thought, her concentration only broken when Dr Corday entered the room. "Hello, Rachel. How are we feeling today?" "We are feeling fine today, thanks," she sassed back. "What were you thinking? What were you trying to do, kill yourself?" "Yeah, actually. Shame it didn't work." She stared into her step- mother's eyes, silently laughing at the look of horror in them. "You were seriously attempting to kill yourself?" "Yes. And it's not the first time. You've just never noticed. The first couple of times weren't really serious, but still. It would have been nice if you or dad had noticed. Look," she said, exposing her arms. Elizabeth gasped, and gently traced her finger along the intricate network of track marks, razor scars and slashes across her wrists. "I never knew. Neither of us knew. How long have you been doing it?" she asked, worried. "About a year. No one noticed. Not even my friends. No one notices anything I do these days." "That's not true, and you know it." Elizabeth scolded. "Yes it is! No one ever listens to me! And don't give me that look, Elizabeth. I'm not crazy or anything. The scars on my arms were just a way of getting you to notice me. That one worked well," she added dryly. "Hang on, I'll be right back. I'm going to go get Dr Kim Legaspi, she works in psyche here. You can talk to her for a while, see how you feel afterwards." She made moves to leave. "I told you I'm not crazy! Why would I need to speak to a psychiatrist? I told you that you never listen to me!" Rachel yelled "I'll be back in a minute." The surgeon left the room.  
  
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He watched as his daughter left her hospital bed and out into the hall. She walked into the empty trauma room and headed towards the cupboard. Rachel reached inside and slowly lifted up a scalpel. "I love you, Dad," she whispered. "I'm coming home, Daddy. Now we'll be together again." She gripped the scalpel firmly and quickly slashed it down her arm from her wrist to her elbow. Mark screamed.  
  
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Rachel watched from a distance as Elizabeth and Kim discovered the empty exam room. The walked down the hall checking each area for Rachel. She held her breath as they entered the trauma room, and sighed as she heard Elizabeth's screams echo through the building. It happened so fast. People stared running to see what the commotion was about, finding Elizabeth draped in her step-daughter's blood, sobbing and holding Rachel's body close. "Oh God, oh God," she kept repeating, over and over again. "She was right, I didn't listen. She told me she didn't want to talk to a psychiatrist, but I went and got one anyway. Now look what she's done! Oh, God, it's all my fault.  
  
Rachel felt herself floating, surrounded by brilliant white light. She didn't know where he was, but she was scared. She was strangely calm - it was a feeling she hadn't felt for a long time. "Hey, Rach. I've missed you." She turned and stepped into her father's arms. "I've missed you too Daddy. That's why I 'm here." 


End file.
